Apparatus for ventilating mines



(No Model.)

L. L. GRAVES &'J'. KANGLEY. APPARATUS FOR VENTILATING MINES.

Patented Mar... 2, 1886.

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LOUIS L. GRAVES AND JOHN KANGLEY, OF STBEATOR, ILLINOIS.

APPARATUS FOR VENTILATING MINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 336,914, dated March2,1886. Application filed November 24, 1884. Renewed January 23. 1 86.Serial No. 189,451. No model.)

1'0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, LOUIS L. GRAVES and JOHN KANG'LEY, citizens of theUnited States, residing at Streator, in the county of La Salle and Stateof Illinois, have in vented certain new and useful Improvements inApparatus for Ventilating Mines, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

Our invention relates to improvements in apparatus for ventilating mineshafts and mine-galleries, either by forcing good air into the mine orexhausting bad air from the mine by a single revolving fan; and itconsists in the construction and relative arrangement of the operatingparts with the shaft of the mine and the air-chambers that receive theair to be acted upon by a revolving fan, as will be fully hereinafterdescribed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a horizontal section of theapparatus as applied to a mine-shaft. Fig. 2 represents aside elevationof the same, and Fig. 3 represents a horizontal section with theair-valves reversed in their positions from that seen in Fig. l.

A represents the casing that incloses the air-chambers and the revolvingfan.

A and A are air-ohambers-one on either side of the revolving fanand A isan air chamber or passage over the fan-case, and through which air canpass from chamber A to chamber A, thence into the fan, to be eitherdrawn from or forced into the mine-shaft.

a a are air-openings in chamber A opposite each other, and a a areair-openings in fanchamber A a a are swinging doors or valves, pivotedat a, to swing in either direction and cover an air-opening, a, a, ora".

B and B are transverse partitions across the casing A, between which isthe fan-chamber A, and in which is the revolving fan B".

b b are openings in partition B for the passage of air from chamber Ainto the fan-chamber A, to be acted upon by the revolving fan B, and b bare similar openingsin partition B, for the passage of air from chamberAinto 'the fan-chamber A to be acted upon by the fan B in itsrevolutions.

O is a horizontal fan-shaft that passes transversely through chambers Aand A*, has proper bearings in casing A, and partitions B and B, and towhich shaft, within chamber A, the fan B is attached to shaft 0.

O is a pulley fast upon the end or other convenient part of shaft 0, forthe purpose of revolving fan B, and is revolved by a belt put in motionby any convenient power.

D represents the air-shaft or mine-shaft, and our device for ventilatingthe, shaft and its mine-galleries is placed at one side of the shaft,instead of directly over it, as has heretofore been the practice. 7

Our construction and arrangement is made, as above described, for thepurpose of allowing escape from the mine of the miners therein whenever,by accident, such escape is necessary, as the ventilating device isentirely out of the way of the ingress and egress of the miners or otherpersons going into or coming I out of the mine, and by our constructionand arrangement of the operating devices of the ventilator air is forcedinto the shaft D by means of the revolving fan B, through the opening aof chamber A, thence a part of the air passes from chamber A throughopenings 1) b in partition B to the fan, While another portion passesover the fan chamber A*, through chamber A, into chamber A, thence intothe fan-chamber through openings 7) in partition B, and thence is forcedby the revolution of the fan B through opening a into the shaft D.

\Vhen it is desired to exhaust the air from the mine and its galleries,a valve or door, a*, is turned to close the air-openinga into chamber A,and valve or door a, next the shaft, is turned to close opening a of thefan-chamber next the shaft, leaving the opening a on the side of chamberA next theshaftD open. lVithout changing the revolution of fan B, theair will be drawn up out of shaft D into chamber A, thence into thefan-chamber A, through openings 1) b, then forced out of the fan-chamberby the fan B through the opening a of the fan chamber. This change froma force fan or blower to an exhaust or suction fan is wholly due to thesimple construction of the parts and the changing of two valves or doorsto cover or leave open the air-passages into and out of the chambers ofthe device.

The fan B may be constructed in any known ICO and approved manner,eitherby radial, curved, or scoop-shaped blades, by which the best results maybe obtained.

We are aware of Patent No. 176,756, dated May 2, 1876, in which twofan-heads or fans are used, drawing the air from one sideonly of thefan-chamber, while by the construction above described but one fan isused, taking air to the fan from both sides of the fan-chamber, and welay no claim to the construction therein shown or described.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an apparatus for ventilating mines, the combination of theair-chamber A, having opposite openings a a, air-chamber Aover thefan-chamber, and air chamber A, having openings 1) into fan-chamber A,having a revolving fan, B, therein, with the doors or valves a a, andarranged with relation to the mine-sh aft substantially as described.

2. In an apparatus for ventilating mines, the combination of the pivoteddoors or valves a a, one upon each of the opposite sides of the chamberA, and arranged to cover openings at and a of said chamber or to swingto cover openings a and a of fan-chamber A, or to cover one opening inchamber A and one open ing in chamber A, as.described.

3. In an apparatus for ventilating mines, the combination of air chamberA, having airopenings a and a on opposite sides thereof, fan chamber A,having air-openings aand a on opposite sides thereof, and a fan, B",revolving in one direction only therein, airchamber A, and connectingair-chamber A to chambers A and A, air-openings b b from chamber A intofan-chamber B, and airopenings b b from chamber A into fan-chamber B,with the pivoted doors or valves aa, to cover openings a a or a and a,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we afiix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

- LOUIS L. GRAVES.

JOHN KANGLEY. \Vitnesses:

G. L. RICHARDS, J. W. MooNE.

